An Italian Fairytale
by Jenipher
Summary: The sequel to Piano Love. After our group of 'heros' leave the PLANTs, they head off to Earth, Europe to be presice, restore Torina to the Italian throne. However, there are thoses who wish their downfall and will stop at nothing to produce it...
1. Descent problems

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny, nor do I own any of the songs or chars.

* * *

Two to three hours after their departure, the five Gundams finally reached the Earth's atmosphere. As they began their descent however, something went wrong. Buzzers went off, and lights flashed.

"What the hell is that?" Rei shouted to his team mates. A fairly large sized ship was making its way towards them, coming up through the atmosphere at an astonishingly fast pace.

"I don't know! What should we do?" Nikkoru replied through the intercom. The ship was getting closer, and the five Gundams were shifting about the sky and trying to formulate a plan when the ship…sent out signal flares?

"What are they doing?" Spy whispered under his breath so no one could hear. "Are they trying to flag us down?" He told to others to wait and he would investigate what was going on. "This is Spy, pilot of the orange GOUF. Do you read over." There was a short wait, then the ship returned a message.

"This is the ZAFT special forces ship Vulcan (1). We read you over." Spy sighed in relief.

"Myself and my group of four others are going down to Earth. Will you be re-descending? Over."

"Yes, we came up to greet you. Orders from Chairman Dullindal. You and your friends have permission to board our ship and we will take you safely to the Northern border of Italy, to Hormine Base. Over."

"Spy what is it?" Zentani asked once the Spy and the Vulcan were done speaking.

"We have permission to board their ship. This will take us and our mobiles to Italy. Anybody got concerns?"

"Nope!" was the rhetorical answer. The five Gundams made their way to the Vulcan, and one after another boarded it. Once inside, each got out of their respective Gundam and met in a special room reserved for them all. Once they were all happily installed in said room, a fairly young looking man entered and bowed.

"Greetings to you all. I am General Fitzcauld. We are hereby taking you to the Hormine Base on the northern borders of Italy. Do any of you have questions?"

"Yeah, why are you taking us there?" Torina asked. She wasn't too sure she could trust these men. Especially if they knew who she really was.

"We were given orders from Dullindal to take you there safely. Because of the battle going on, you all would have been spotted entering the atmosphere and the EAF would have attacked you immediately. Any other questions?"

"Can we go to sleep for now then?" Rakusu asked while yawning.

"Of course. If you still have energy left to walk then I shall show you to your rooms." Fitzcauld said while escorting them to their separate rooms. Rei, Spy and Nikkoru were bunked together while Rakusu, Torina and Zentani were in another one. After General Fitzcauld had left them, Torina automatically started to pace, well, float the rooms length.

"What's wrong dear?" Zentani asked her daughter. She was getting into a bed while Rakusu had fallen asleep instantly.

"I don't trust this ship. Well, I trust the ship but not the crew members. Wouldn't Gilbert have told us about having a ship to greet us and isn't the ZAFT base at the border called Quadra Eagle?"

"No, Quadra Eagle is in Poland. Hormine doesn't sound to familiar to me but hey, I'm not an expert. You have a point about Gilbert and all, but I think you're just tired. You should get some rest. We can let the boys worry about this while we take a beauty sleep."

"Alright mother, if you are so sure." Torina replied sarcastically, while floating down onto a bed. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight dear." Torina didn't slide under the sheets, nor did she close her eyes. As soon as she was sure her mother was asleep, she got up and left the room.

* * *

Meanwhile…in the boys room, Rei and Nikkoru were having a pillow fight much to Spys annoyance. He was writing in yet another journal when I pillow smacked him in the face. He jumped up and faced the guilty person. Rei smiled back and waved. Spy calmly closed his book and smiled a wicked smile. Rei gulped and hid behind Nikkoru.

"Eat pillow Za Barrel!" Spy shouted and thrust the pillow into Reis face. Nikkoru had moved away from his boyfriend so he wouldn't be hurt. The 'Pillow war of Justice' (as they called it) raged on until the door slid open. Immediately all three boys stopped moving and floated in a pose around the room. It was Torina!

"Ai! Boys are so immature." She said while going to sit on a bed. The three boys floated down and sat on their respective beds. Spy sat next to Torina and asked why she was here.

"I don't feel right…about this ship I mean. My mother finds it not odd, but I do. Wouldn't your father have told us about a greeting party Rei and is Hormine really a ZAFT base?" she asked, turning to the blond haired boy. He was sitting on Nikkoru -who had his arms around his waist- and frowned.

"You have a point. He would never do that. I'm not sure about the base but if you're right then who do you think these people are then if not ZAFT?" Rei asked.

"They are ZAFT, that I am sure of. But what kind of ZAFT?"

"What do you mean Miss anomaly?" Rei asked again. Torina sighed.

"They could be Blue Cosmos, a Co-ordinator version of the Blue Cosmos bent on killing all Naturals or a group of traitors. You pick." The three boys looked at her.

"Then why would they attack us Torina? We're all…" Spy started then shut his mouth. He realized what she meant.

"My mother and I aren't. Nor are you correct?"

"I don't know. I just assumed I was a Co-ordinator. I really have no clue." Spy said looking at the floor. It brought back painful memories of his childhood.

"Exactly. And they might even know who I really am. There are plenty of ZAFT who would love to use me as either bait or a peace offering or just to gain special info. We're not safe on this ship. Final." Torina said and folded her arms across her chest.

"Then what should we do about it?" Nikkoru asked, pushing Rei onto the floor.

"I honestly don't know." Torina whispered and sighed.

"We could highjack the ship." The four teens all fell onto the floor and looked to the door. Rakusu was standing there with Zentani.

"Rakusu!" Nikkoru shouted, finding it odd that she, a War representative, would think of something so… possibly violent.

"She has a point." Zentani added nodding in approval.

"What? How long have you been listening?" Nikkoru asked the two new additions to the room.

"I heard the whole thing. After we girls went to bed, I heard Torina slip out. I thought about what she had said and woke Rakusu up to come with me. I must say your argument is very good. You will be a great debater."

"So you agree with me?" Torina said in a happy tone.

"Of course. I also agree with Rakusu. Lets go!"

"What?" all the teens shouted in unison.

"I'm not getting any younger." Was all Zentani said before turning and running off.

"Wait up!" they shouted while following the seemingly deranged music teacher to the command center of the Vulcan. _I guess it could be worse._ Thought Nikkoru. _We could have two Zentanis and no Torina!

* * *

_

Turn left, turn right, right, left, left… around and around. This ship seemed to have no end to it's maze of corridors and rooms. As the teens and Zentani floated through the ship, they were surprised to find one: no guards, two: no people. Every room was empty, all corridors empty. Even the launch bay where the Gundams were was empty. It was creepy. The silence stretched on forever until Torina broke it.

"Does anyone else feel that something is wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah….there seems to be no one anywhere. That's just weird." Rei stated. They carried on in silence a little longer when they came upon what was, according to the map they had found, the main control room. All stopped just as they reached the door and peered in. Two voices filed out into the halls. They were speaking…German?

"Willst du etwas trinken gehen?" a man said. He was seated in the Captains chair talking to Fitzcauld who was seated at a radar.

"Ja, danke." he said. The two men got up and started for the door. The teens and teacher slid into another room just as the two men passed. They were left unnoticed. When the halls were clear again, everyone entered the control room.

"Do any of you know what they said per chance?" Rei asked as he went to the radar. Zentani seated herself in the captains chair and the others were floating around looking at different objects.

"The first man said 'do you want to go for a drink' and Fitzcauld replied 'yes, thank you'." Spy answered absent mindedly then swore under his breath.

"You can speak German?" Torina said and gasped. Everyone was starring at him now. He swallowed and was about to reply when Torina spoke up again. "Cool." She and the others shook it off and continued to snoop and pilfer around the room.

"What do you mean?" Spy asked Torina as he floated to her side.

"Well, I could tell it was a bad thing that you showed to us that you could speak German so I dropped the subject. If you don't want us to know that's okay. I understand that you want it to be a secret and that secret is safe with me m'kay?" she asked and winked at him while smiling. He smile back and thanked her then went to look around also. _I have to be careful!_ He thought._ If anyone finds out about me…_

"Spy! Everyone! Come here!" Torina shouted suddenly, pulling him out of his mind. He floated towards her and frowned when he saw the virtual map.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Nikkoru asked pulling up beside the others hovering over the map. "Oh my God…" he whispered.

"We're not going to Italy are we?" Rakusu asked. She was replied to with silence. The virtual map showed that they had entered the atmosphere and were heading to…not Italy, not Austria or Switzerland no, they were going to Germany.

* * *

"I knew it." Spy said in a voice that sounded as if he was punching himself.

"Knew what?" Zentani asked putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Hormine. It's a Natural base in Kufstein which is located on the German-Austrian border. If they get us there, we're never going to get to Italy."

"How and why do you know all this Spy?" Torina asked. Everyone grew silent again. No one dared breath. Torina stood in front of him and held his chin in her hand when he tried to looked down. "Tell me now. It is imperative." A tear slid from his eye.

"I know this because…"

"Go ahead my boy, tell her." A voice spoke in near perfect English. Spy gasped and the others turned to the voices owner. There stood the first German man. He had shoulder length silver hair and piercing green eyes. He stood about 6 foot and was holding a gun pointed at Spy. Before anyone could say anything, much less move, all the soldiers who had vanished seemed to reappear and surround the group of startled Co-Ordinators. The first man walked up to Spy and smiled.

"Why do you frown at me? I can tell you recognize who I am don't you?" he asked. He grabbed Spys arm and in an instant, twisted it behind his back. Spy let out a silent cry of pain and fell to his knees. The man pointed the gun at the back of his neck and smiled at the others. "If anyone moves or speaks out of turn, he'll die."

"You can go to hell bastard." Spy whispered under his breath.

"Well maybe I can, and I probably will, but not until I deal with your group of friends. Including her majesty." He replied. Spy and Torina both froze. "Yes my dear, I know who you are. And you probably know who we are by now thanks to this lad. We are Naturals from Base Hormine in Kufstein and you are now all under the jurisdiction of Germany."

"We are not under the jurisdiction of Germany and never will be. We are under no ones control especially not yours. The only country that can govern us is Italy." Torina sated to the man in a commanding tone. He smiled.

"You'd be surprised my dear. Italy is under Natural occupation. I can see her majesty has been out of her country for to long. Come here now or I shoot." He said coldly. Torina held her ground. "Alright then, I will use force." He snapped his fingers and ten of the men, with guns, pushed the teens and Zentani back so that Torina was standing alone in front of Spy and the man.

"You will not break my spirit by separating me from my friends or by using guns and threats that you won't see through. End this charade now." She said just as cold.

"Ah, I see you are wise beyond your years. You're right. I'd never shoot 'Spy' here. He means to much to the German government." He let go of Spys arm and was pushed to the floor at Torinas feet. She knelt to help him up as he rubbed his arm to return the feeling.

"What do you want us to do with the others Captain?" Fitzcauld asked as he came towards the two teens and the Captain.

"Have them locked in their rooms under guard. Oh, and Fitzcauld, do you remember this young one?" he said pointing his gun at Spy.

"Well, if it isn't the little bastard himself. I thought he died with his family." Fitzcauld replied while ushering the four other teens and Zentani back to their rooms. They tried top struggle, but one sharp look from Torina caused them to be courteous and not to fight back and that she'd come up with a plan…eventually. After they had left the room, the man snapped his fingers again and all others soldiers left the room. There was now only he, Torina and Spy.

* * *

"You will not hurt them if we comply correct?" she asked.

"Yes your majesty. If you and Spy comply with my will then your friends will be let go in Neutral territory with their Gundams and harm-free. Now that we are alone, I can be a little more open with myself. If you don't know already I am Captain Remus Maulekov, but you can call me Bob." He said and laughed to himself. "No, call me Remus. I was joking. I simply like the name Bob. It has a certain ring to it. What? Have you two no humor?" he said realizing that the two teens were glaring at him. Well, Spy was. Torina was simply giving him a cold glare, her purple braided hair was swung over her shoulder giving her and 'authoritative' look.

"There is nothing funny about kidnapping Co-ordinators and pretending to be a ZAFT ship. You have also broken over twenty laws and have committed a national crime and all you can do is make jokes? You seem very how shall I put it? Stupid Captain Maulekov. I am unimpressed." She spoke clearly and harshly, not once stumbling over her English and not once looking scared.

"You certainly are mature beyond your years Empress, but you are still only a child. You speak like a women thrice your age and have the wisdom of the ancient ones, but you are still but a child. A pathetic child. I can see it in your eyes. You have fears, concerns, worries for your friends and your mother." She gasped.

"Yes, I could tell it was Zentani Sadrefa herself. Even though you two look nothing alike, you both have the same piercing commanding stare and eyes. Anyway, back to the topic on hand. You are being taken to Kufstein and will be imprisoned there until the Italian Government, which by the way is now Natural, takes you back to Rome. There you will be treated like a slave, not an Empress, and will most likely be beheaded for returning when you've been banished and exiled. Any questions?" he took a breath and smiled. Torinas arms were now at her sides and she was shaking. With rage or fear we will never know. Spy was slowly getting angrier and angrier.

"We will never be taken to Kufstein you half-breed." Spy said, his words dripping with poison as he spoke. As he looked Remus in the eyes, the Captain backslapped him. It was with such force that Spy was flung sideways and stumbled. He held his hand to his face and felt blood flow down his cheek and into the air. Breathing hard and in pain, Spy spoke again. "I thought that would insult you. It hurts doesn't it? And only I know about it save you." He smirked. Remus turned red and slapped him again. This time Spy was ready for it and grabbed his hand. What he didn't expect was a leg that kicked him off his feet. Spy fell backwards with a sickening crack and Torina cried out and went to his side. His arms was pinned behind his back and was bent the wrong way. Remus had broken his arm with that kick.

"Yes, only you and I know. But you won't ever speak of it again or else it'll be your Empress here who goes to the floor." He said, hatred seething on his words. Spy winced in pain and tried to lean forwards. Torina helped him to his feet and he leaned against her, his arm being held to his body, trying to stop the pain.

"You will not touch him again. If you do I will…" before she could finish, Remus had the gun to her face.

"You'll what? There is nothing you can do Empress. Nothing at all. Maybe I can't kill him, and certainly not you, but your friends…will be useful if you do not follow my orders starting now. I will take no more crap from you or him. You will be taken to Kufstein whether you like it or not and you will be taken there by force if need be. Do I make myself clear?" he shouted the last part.

"Obviously we aren't. I'd rather you kill us all then be taken to Kufstein." Spy retorted. He glared at Remus from beneath his orange hair and smirked.

"You little.." Remus shouted and grabbed Spys neck. He lifted the teen off the floor by his neck and laughed as the boy struggled to get free. Torina screamed. Remus silenced her with his gun.

"Leave…her…alone." Spy managed to gasp out. This made Remus laugh more.

"I will leave her alone if you fucking comply you brat! I see you haven't changed much since you left us." Torina gasped.

"What do you mean? Tell me at once." She commanded.

"No!" Spy shouted, but he made no sound.

"Don't you know? Your faithful guardian and protector here is a German himself. His mother was Italian, and his father German. He was also born in Kufstein making him by our law, a German citizen. He grew up with his older brother and parents in Kufstein before they were exiled by law because of treachery. Although his parents were given orders to leave Spy at Hormine Base, they ignored the government and fled with him. They fled to Italy, San Gimignano to be exact." Spy began to silently cry as the horrible memories of his past re-emerged. Torina simply stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes, he grew up with you after you were exiled yourself Empress. We know because he was followed. Everyday he and his family were watched by German spies to make sure they were part of no strange actions or groups. After a few years, they disappeared. Left with no trace. We lost our most valuable weapon just like that. Care to tell us what happened boy?" Remus asked, throwing him to the ground. Spy merely coughed and stood up. Torina helped him to stay standing.

"I'll take that as a no. Later on we found him. They had taken him to Junius-7 his parents did. Thinking we'd not know. After it was destroyed though, we lost contact. We thought him dead. But now we know that to be a lie."

"You are the one who is lying." Was all Torina could manage to spit out.

"I do not my dear. Here are the basic down to Earth facts. Spy here is a German biological weapon created by the German government. His parents were both Naturals. When he was born, the military took him and changed his genetic data. He was turned into a Co-ordinator, and not just any old Co-ordinator. He was given skills beyond whatever useless human minds could ever perceive. He is the ultimate killing machine, having been created to kill Co-ordinators. He is stronger, smarter and better in all categories then any person in the history of man and is the property of Germany. Isn't that right Spy? Or should I say experiment code 766152, Heine Westenfluss."

* * *

1. Vulcan is the roman God of volacnoes and the forge. Known in Greek as Hephastus.

Authors Note: Cliffhanger! I love keeping you guys in suspense :D Now you know who Spy really is and who he is modeled after. Congrats. to anyone who guessed who he was from the start. All of his history and background is of my imagination though. This is also an AU so I can type whatever I want to as well. I hope you like what I have written, well…typed! I will try to update soon and hope to see you at the next chapter! Ciao ciao! Jenipher


	2. Operation 'Kick Natural Ass'

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny, nor do I won any of the chars or songs.

Authors Note: Hey guys! Just a quick little note here. The places on Earth that I use in this story are real places in real countries and are not made up. I got my info. from the Larousse Canadian Atlas. However, the situations and damage of said places my be fictional. (Ex: I have no idea if Kufstein really has a military base.) Jenipher

* * *

"Isn't that right Spy? Or should I say experiment code 766152, Heine Westenfluss." Spy, sorry, Heine gasped and stared at Remus. Torina gasped as well and stared at him.

"You're that boy…" she said in a blank voice. "The boy with the orange hair who…" she paused to remember.

"Yes." Heine said, looking to the ground. "I was the one who protected you your whole life until I was taken to Junius-7." Tears floated around the room, splashing into the walls and windows.

"Now now Heine. Don't be so sad. She would have figured it out. Not many Italians had or have orange hair you know." Remus said and smiled. Torina went over to where Heine was seated on the ground.

"Is all he says…true?" she asked, her voice quavering a bit. He looked at her, his eyes were full of pain and sadness.

"Yes. It's all true. Every bit of it." He replied. He held his arm, got up and glared at Remus. "You love hurting others don't you?"

"But of course Heine my boy. Especially through emotional and mental assault. We're trained to break people, and you've been broken." He then laughed. Heine grimaced in pain and walked towards Remus.

"Remus Maulekov, I ask, no, beg you to listen to my offer." Heine spoke.

"I'm listening. Maybe it'll be something good." He replied smartly.

"I will willingly, and without a fuss, go with you and Fitzcauld back to Hormine and comply to the governments wishes on one condition." He paused.

"Go on boy, I'm interested."

"You will let Torina and the others go safely into the Neutral country of Austria with their Gundams and with guaranteed safe passage to the ZAFT base on the northern Italian border." He finished and looked up at Remus. Torina looked at him with a questioning look. She mouthed _'Are you sure?' _to which he mouthed back _'I'll be fine.'_

"So, a compromise eh?" Remus spoke out loud. The door slid open and Fitzcauld entered the room. "What do you think of it Fitzcauld?"

"Of what Sir?" he asked.

"Of Heines bargain. They all go free to Austria and he'll come with us to Berlin. Sounds good doesn't it?"

"But Sir, are we going to let her go? She's just as important as he is." he asked. Torina frowned knowing he meant her.

"Yes I know, but he's more important by far. Remember?" he said and raised an eyebrow. A light must have gone on in Fiztcaulds head because he understood…finally.

"I see Sir. Sounds good to me. Shall we take them now to their rooms or what?"

"Take her to her room with the other women and he will come with me."

"Yes Sir!" Fitzcauld replied and ushered Torina out of the room and to her own. She tried to resist but a look from Heine made her reconsider. It was a 'go along with it until I can think of something' look. She smiled at him and said something in Italian he understood. (1) She blew a hurried kiss to him as she was pushed out the door.

"So, you have a girlfriend?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"Not girlfriend Remus, fiancée, but she's not here." He replied smartly.

"I see. I was wondering about the ring. Well then, I have agreed to your bargain. Come with me now and we'll talk to the government about your proposal and see what they think. Don't look so glum, cheer up! What could be worse?"

"Everything." Heine whispered under his breath as Remus led him out the door and through the once deserted halls.

* * *

After having been quite abruptly shut back into their room, Rakusu, Zentani and the boys began to plot immediately. (Remus must be psychic eh?) They were locked under gun and key, and escape seemed a bit difficult. I mean, think about it. Two Co-ordinator soldiers, a War Representative and a full grow woman against…however many guards? Odds seemed tipped against their favour. Zentani was the first to break the silence and thinking.

"So, anyone got any ideas other then simply busting out?" she was seated on the floor beside Rakusu and Rei and Nikkoru where sitting on the bed.

"Nope, unless someone happened to have a gun or weapon?" Nikkoru muttered a slightly rhetorical question. To answer this, Zentani took off her puffy shirt to reveal a tank top underneath but more importantly, a belt of knives, grenades and a couple pistols around her middle. Rei and Nikkoru gasped in surprise.

"What? Men are so stupid. I'd have thought they'd body check us for this kind of stuff." She said while taking the belt off. She nudged Rakusu in the side and the pink haired girl sighed and lifted her skirt up to her thighs. This revealed to the two boys a pistol, sleeping gas and three throwing knives. Not to mention a 10 meter of so long string of barbed wire. Rakusu laid her weapons on the floor and smiled.

"You seem surprised that I carry weapons on me." She said innocently. Rei and Nikkoru promptly fell over anime style.

"How do you…?"

"Where did you…?" was all they could say.

"Men are so stupid." Was all Zentani muttered.

"I'd drink to that." Rakusu replied. Zentani then 'assigned' weapons to the group

of four and spoke of a plan.

"Alright, listen up because I won't explain this again…" just as she was about to begin the details of operation 'Kick Natural Ass' (as she named it) the door to their room slid open and someone was pushed in.

"Torina!" they all said in unison. The violet haired girl walked to the edge of the human circle and plopped down and began to cry.

"Perchè?" (2) she said while covering her face with her hands.

"Cosa c'è?" (3) Zentani asked, moving to sit by her daughter. She pulled Torina into a tight embrace which the girl returned.

"Spy… he's Heine!" she managed to sputter out. Zentani gasped.

"What is it Zentani What's wrong with her?" Rakusu asked, quite concerned. Zentani sighed a deep sigh and smiled at her.

"Spy isn't really Spy. His real name is Heine Westenfluss."

"What?" the three other teens shouted in unison.

"I'll explain…" Zentani went into detail about who Heine was and basically told them everything Remus had said, but not word per word of course.

"But how do you know him? And why didn't you recognize him?" Rei asked.

"Well, that I'm not to sure of. We left to go to the PLANTs before he left. I guess he was taken to Junius-7 after we left. When we left him he was about 9 or 10 years old so I guess I just forgot. Plain and simple. He was assigned to look after Torina when she was younger. That's how we know him." Zentani answered.

"There's one more thing mother…" Torina said quietly. She had stopped crying and was just clutching her mothers arm.

"What is it dear?" Zentani asked. First she explained the bargain he had made and how Remus wouldn't honor it, then about the other thing.

"He is a…" she paused. "a biological weapon created by the Germans to kill. Remus called him Experiment code 766152." She whispered.

"Oh my God…." Was all Zentani said in response.

"What do you mean Zentani?" Nikkoru asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing you kids should know of yet. I'll tell you later. Right now we have to escape, with Heine." She said rather harshly. "Anyway here is what we'll do…" she calmed down and began to tell them of operation 'Kick Natural Ass'.

* * *

Operation 'Kick Natural Ass' happened like so; after assigning weapons (it turned out Torina had a bunch hidden in her clothes too), Rakusu and Torina began to scream bloody murder. This alerted the guards who then opened the door. Once the guards entered to see what the problem was, Rei and Nikkoru attacked them with the barbed wire. (Yes, they most likely died). Then, the group attacked the others guards who where either posted outside the door, or who came to investigate the noises. After ensuring all the guards where dead or rendered silent, they all ran/floated down the hallways back to the command center.

Just as before, there was no one there. Just to make sure of no traps, Rei and Rakusu were posted at the door with weapons. Zentani and Torina pilfered around again to see where Heine was being held and Nikkoru changed the navigation to head to Italy. They were now above the Mediterranean Sea heading North to Europe. (After having descended into the Atlantic.) The sun was beginning to rise in the Est and cast a glorious sunrise upon the calm waters below the Vulcan. Torina found what room Heine was in and the group of five left the command center to head down more halls to Remus' quarters.

Zentani and Torina waited at the door with Rakusu while Nikkoru and Rei went in first. They busted the door down and entered the room, guns raised. Surprise, there was no one there. The two boys searched the room expertly (making sure to look everywhere) but could find no trace of Heine or Remus even thought it was obviously his room. They called for the three girls to come in so they could re-strategize.

"He isn't here!" Rei whispered.

"Then where the hell could he be? The data on the computer said he was taken to the Captains room to 'discuss' things. Where could he be if not…" Zentani shut her mouth and swore under her breath.

"What is it?" Rakusu asked, picking up a gun from a table and walking towards the others after looking around the room herself.

"It's a trap. We've fallen into a trap. Heine's not here. He's to powerful. He would have been taken to the cells. Any minute now guards will come."

"Then we'll have to leave before they get here!" Nikkoru said and started to leave the room. As he passed the door, an alarm sounded and began to alert the crew and Remus. The teens and teacher ran back the way they had come but were cut off by soldiers. Rei threw a grenade as they turned to runt he other way. Soon though, an intersection of halls came upon them.

"Where do we go?" Torina asked.

"Split up to find Heine! If you can't or do, just leave. The rest of us will escape somehow. Go to the Gundams and leave to get help. Rakusu, Torina come with me, Rei and Nikkoru, go that way!" Zentani shouted, pointing to the other passageway.

"Deal. Good luck and stay safe!" Rei shouted as he and Nikkoru ran to other way. The two boys, after a while of searching room and hallways, were re-captured and taken to the cellblocks. The girls however, were a bit more fortunate. Left, right, left, left, straight, right. Turning and turning again. They soon found themselves in the Gundam launch bay.

"Do we leave or not?" Rakusu asked. They had made a deal for the successful ones to escape, but now it seemed cowardly and selfish. Torina gave her an answer.

"I will not, absolutely positively not leave without Heine." She announced and stomped her foot. To emphasize the point. "Now, where are the cells?"

"They should be below the conference room which is a few halls down from here." Zentani answered. _How does she know all this?_ Rakusu thought. _It's creepy._ The three females ran to the conference room and entered right as four or five guards turned down that corridor. They just made it without being seen. Inside the room was a table, several chairs and a button.

"Odd. Why is there this one remote button?" Torina pondered aloud and pressed it. Much to their surprise, the button activated a special panel in the wall. Said panel popped out to reveal……guns! Lots and lots of guns. And grenades, and bombs, and knives, and smoke canisters, and swords, and ammunition, and…et cetera. Zentani smiled evilly and began to re stock her ammo and weapon supply.

"So…" Rakusu began while fastening a bazooka and a pair of machine guns to her back and several machine gun ammo belts around her waist. "Got weapons?" she said and laughed. She turned around to show Zentani and Torina her 'new look' and they all had a good laugh. Zentani had grenades, a crossbow, knives and several mini-guns while Torina just took the two swords and a gun.

"Let's go kick some Natural Ass." She said in an Arnold…so and so from Terminator voice.

"Well said my dear, well said." Zentani replied. After cleaning out the weapons, Zentani searched the room for a trap door while Torina and Rakusu kept door post. _This has turned out to be quite interesting._ Torina thought. _I'd never thought I would carry such weapons. It's fun._ She giggled.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Torina had left, Remus led Heine to his 'room'. But what Heine didn't know, was that Remus had lied to him. He didn't take him to his room, no, he took him to the most secure cell and threw him in.

"You lying bastard." Heine snarled out. Remus just laughed.

"You are the bastard Heine. You should have known that I wouldn't keep my promises. Did you learn nothing at Hormine?" he replied, then left the cellblocks. His boots made an eerie clicking sound as he walked. As he was about to leave thought, he turned and sighed. "I will keep true to my word for one thing at least."

"What?" Heine asked coldly.

"I will not harm any of your friends. That I promise you on my life." He replied and left, turning off the lights. Heine was left in the cold, silent cell. No bed, no light, just a cold steel floor. He began to sing to pass the time until he would relive the horrors of his youth in Kufstein. His voice echoed off the walls.

"Fratelli d'Italia, l'Italia s'è desta, Dell'elmo di Scipio s'è cinta la testa. Dov'è la Vittoria? Le porga la chioma, Ché schiava di Roma Iddio la creo. Stringiamici a corte, Siam pronti alla morte, l'Italia chiamo…" (4) Before he could finish, the door off the cell blocks slid open. He could see three figures. Two were walking towards him, hands behind their backs, and one had a gun. His cell was opened, and the two people thrown in. He shied away to the corner.

"Who are you..?" he asked, a bit scared.

"Spy? I mean Heine? Is that you?" a voice called out to him. He crawled forward.

"Thank God! Nikkoru, Rei! You were caught?" he asked.

"Yeah. Operation 'Kick Natural Ass' was a failure to us. Let us simply hope the girls are fine." Rei replied. _Operation kick what?_ Heine thought.

"Where is Torina?" Heine asked.

"With the others. She was safe last we saw her." Nikkoru Replied. The three boys lapsed into silence.

"I'm sorry I lied to you, about who I am." Heine spoke up.

"Hey, no hard feelings. We understand perfectly. Everyone has their little, or big secrets they don't want anyone to know." Rei replied. Heine was sitting across from him and he was sitting beside Nikkoru. The green haired boy had buried his head into Reis chest while Rei stroked his hair lovingly.

"So…what do we do now?" Heine asked.

"We wait." Rei replied. Silence engulfed them all. Heine thought of ways to escape in his head, but to no avail. Each one had the same re-occurring problem. What about the others? Until he knew where the girls were, there was no point in trying anything. A loud boom followed by a crack made the boys jump.

"Holy frickin' God!" Rei shouted.

"What was that?" Nikkoru asked. They watched as the dust and debris cleared and as three figures jumped down through a hole. They began to walk towards them.

"Anyone in here?" a familiar female voice called out.

"Rakusu! Torina! Zentani! Over here!" Heine called. He walked up to the door of the cell and hugged Torina when she came towards him. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Same here, but we need to leave." She replied. "Stand back you three, and cover your mouths and heads."

"Why?" Rei asked as they retreated to the back of the cell and went into the safety position. Anther boom, another loud crack and dust. Lots of dust. The three boys were bombarded by dust. And debris. Can't forget that good ol' debris.

"It's safe to come out now." Rakusu called out. When Heine looked at what used to be a gate, he shivered.

"You guys are violent." Rei stated. They had used a grenade to blow up the door. Now all that was left was a few pieces of metal sticking up from the ground.

"Why thank you." Rakusu replied and curtsied.

"Where did you…?" Nikkoru began but was silence by Zentani throwing a gun and ammo at him.

"Here, come get weapons. We found lots of weapons." She smiled.

"Your mom is weird, did you know that?" Rei whispered to Torina.

"Yeah…" she replied.

"I heard that young man." Zentani said. "Now lets get out of here…" she turned around but stopped dead in her tracks.

"Tut tut. What naughty children, and what a bad role model." A sick voice spoke. Heine shivered inside.

"Remus." Heine hissed.

"Yes my boy. You're all so much smarter then I gave you credit for, but the games end here." The voice said harshly and coldly. They were caught…again.

"How did you..?" Rei began, but was silenced.

"I'm not that stupid a man you know. I anticipated your every move and plotted against it. I'm quite surprised you were able to change the navigational co-ordinates, but we're still heading to Germany. Sorry. Nice try though." Remus smiled evilly. "Who was it who changed them?"

"I did. But how did you break through my barrier/" Nikkoru asked.

"Easy boy, I wiped the whole system then reset it back to what it was."

"Um…would you mind getting you gun away from my chest please? Zentani asked quite indignantly. Remus started at her, then complied. "Thank you."

"Now then, I want you to all hand over your weapons and ammunition please. Can't have ya running around with that stuff can I?" he asked. The teens all gave up their weapons, but Zentani refused.

"This is my rifle. Not your, mine." She snarled as he tried to take it away from her. When he tried to take it back a second time, Zentani bit him, or at least tried to.

"Damn bicth!" he shouted.

"Why thank you. It was what I was going for." She replied saucily. Remus slapped her across the face. Everyone was silent. She glared at him. "Do that again and I'll kill you." Zentani threatened. Remus grinned.

"Alright, keep the rifle." He said backing up with the weapons. "But be warned, if you use it Torina will die." He hissed before leaving the room. Just as he got to the door, he paused ans turned around. "Just so you know, there is a patrol of men through that hole and another two patrols outside the door. You are free to roam around in here, but try to leave and they will kill you. We will arrive at Hormine Base within a couple hours. Try to get some sleep." He walked out.

"Well, that was weird." Rei said while sliding down the wall unto the floor.

"Mother, did you have to bite him?" Torina asked, sitting next to Rei.

"He tried to take my rifle." She said in defense.

"Be quiet, all of you!" Heine said loudly. Everyone shut up and looked at him. He was turned away from them, showing naught but his back and fisted hands. "Get some sleep now. At Hormine, sleep is impossible. Escape is impossible. Hormine is…hell."

* * *

1. Heine is quadralingual (is that even a word?). He can speak, read, and write English, German, Italian and French. (I'll explain the French part later on in the story.)

2. Perchè means 'why' in Italian.

3. Cosa c'è means 'what's wrong' in Italian.

4. Italian brothers, Italy has arisen, Has put on the helmet of Scipio, Where is victory? Created by God, The slave of Rome, She crowns you with glory, let us unite, we are ready to die, Italy calls.


	3. Return to Kufstein

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny, nor do I own any of the chars of songs.

* * *

After Heines little 'break down episode', the others decided to follow his advice and sleep. In his current state, no one dared talk back or step out of line. Rei and Nikkoru where snuggled together in a corner, Rakusu was sleeping with her head on Zentanis lap while the teacher was trying to sleep by counting sheep and stroking her rifle. Only Torina was awake to see Heine have a silent fit. She got up from the floor and walked over to him. He jumped when she laid her hand upon his shoulder.

"I told you to sleep.." he started but the look she gave him shut him up instantly.

"You're one to give orders to an Empress. Besides, your arm is broken and needs tending." She retorted. He sighed. She took off her over shirt and ripped it in two. Heine just stared at her. She took his arm quite hard, causing him to cry out a bit, and began to create a sling. After she finished bandaging it, she smiled at him.

"Sorry about that." she said apologetically.

"No, I should be sorry for ordering you around. It's just…" she silenced him by placing a finger on his lips.

"You need not say anything. I understand and respect your choices. Whatever you do, I will back you up. You have my word." She sank to the floor and looked up at him. "What? Aren't you going to sleep? Or at least take a little nap?"

"At a time like this? I can hardly stand still for fear of what is to come." He replied, sitting next to her. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Fear not my friend, for that is what will be your downfall. If you show your fear, others will use it against you. Especially your enemies. Remus seems very good at it. Besides, what about Skark and the children?" she felt Heine tense up when she mentioned his fiancées name.

"What about them?" he asked, 'un-tensing'

"Think about it. Those kids are brave every day of their lives. They have courage by just living. Not even the one with cancer is fearful of anything. Especially not dying. Justin was it? He does not fear what is to come because he has the other kids and Skark and you. And just like him, you have us and therefore have no reason to fear." She poked his forehead with the last word and managed to get him to smile. "Wow, I thought you'd forgotten how to smile." He looked at her.

"How can you be so brave and careless Torina? I just don't get it. I understand what you mean, but that place, it holds such horrid and tormenting memories and..." he stopped when he heard a light snore and looked at Torina. She was asleep! "God." He muttered under breath. _How can she sleep at a time like this? This is serious, yet, she looks so peaceful._ He thought and sighed. _I guess a little sleep wouldn't hurt me…_ he thought before laying his head on Torinas and falling into a dreamless sleep.

"Alright! Get up you prisoners! We're here." A voice shouted into the cell block. Zentani was the first to 'snap' awake. She shook her head and grabbed her rifle, pointing it at the intruder. When she remembered what the current situation was, she relaxed and woke up Rakusu.

"Is it morning already?" the pink haired girl asked while stretching.

"Well, I guess. Does Hell have days?" Zentani replied. Rei and Nikkoru were stirring while Torina and Heine were still fast asleep.

"Zentani! Look at them. They're so….cute." Rakusu pointed out. During her sleep, Torina had managed to put her arm around Heine.

"Yes, they are. But Heine is engaged remember? They're just really good friends. Heine would give his life for Torina, and I'm sure she'd do the same." She whispered the last part. Rakusu wasn't listening anyway. She had walked over to wake up sleeping beauty and her prince charming. _She loves him I bet._ Zentani thought while getting up. _Poor child, the only one she's ever loved is taken._ Rei and Nikkoru were now fully awake, as were Torina and Heine.

"Good morning!" Zentani said cheerfully. Heine just stared at her.

"Same." He muttered. _There's nothing good about this morning at all._ He thought morbidly while going to the door. The other five were behind him in a group while he knocked on the door with his left hand. (his right arm is broken and 'slinged').

"What?" a male voice shouted. _Great, still guarded._ He thought.

"Are we there yet?" Heine asked. He got no answer for the door slid open and Remus stood in the entrance. Bastard.

"Good morning! How are we all doing?" he asked so cheerfully it was sick.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Rei said coldly.

"Tsk tsk. Some one sure is moody." Remus retorted.

"I wonder why." Nikkoru said under his breath. Remus made a hand signal and seven or eight men entered the room. Heine shoved himself in front of the group and snarled when one of the men tried to push him aside. The man stepped back a bit and turned to Remus.

"Now now Heine, no need to be.."

"Shut up." Heine hissed before Remus could finish.

"What's your problem?" Remus asked.

"You said you'd let them go. In fact you promised. I don't care if your word is as good as a rotten egg or not. I will not comply to anything until they are safely in Austria." Remus scowled at the orange haired boy.

"Insolent fool!" he shouted and raised a gun to Heines face. He didn't move an inch. _I know you're scared Heine, but stay calm. If you show you're scared then he's already won. Besides, he can't kill you….he wouldn't…_ Heine thought. He smiled at Remus hoping his plan would work.

"Shoot Remus, or do you not dare?" he asked. "What would the German government do with you if they found out?" Remus frowned and put his gun down.

"Fine Heine, you win. They will be set free." He said, raising his arms in mock defeat. Heine smiled and was about to move when, suddenly and without a sound, Remus had flung him to the floor. Without his right arm, Heine was at a disadvantage. Also he had a lack of sleep, food and proper treatment for the arm. He breathed out in pain when he landed on his back, and before he could get up, one of the soldiers had a knife to his throat.

"I know I can't have you killed, but I can have you rendered harmless. Take him to the Base." Remus shouted at Fitzcauld, who had been standing outside the cell.

"What about them?" he said, nodding his head to the rest of the group.

"Take them to the soldiers quarters. They are to be treated like guests, only without the freedom." Remus replied, flicking his hand. He began to leave but stopped and whispered in Heines ear. "Nice try Heine, but you could never have won. Even at full capacity." Then he left, laughing to himself. Heine was taken away while the others merely watched in horror.

"You bastards! Unhand him at once." Torina commanded, but was met with laughs from the soldiers.

"We only listen to Remus and the government. Nice try thought girly." One of the soldiers said making a face at her.

"Why you…!" She shouted. In her rage, she lunged at the man and did the famous 'grab, squeeze, twist, pull, throw it away' move. (1) She had rendered him useless, but before she could attack him further, her arms were seized by two other soldiers. She looked back and noticed everyone had been caught like she. The man on the ground groaned as she kicked him in the stomach while being led out of the cell. Some more of the soldiers helped the 'wounded' man to his feet.

"Take that you bastard!" she shouted back at the man while being walked down the hall. "If I ever see you again..!" she began to shout again, but was silence when she heard the all to familiar click of a gun behind her. The group was moved off the Vulcan and into the Hormine Base soldiers quarters. While being taken into the building, Torina looked around her. Heine was right, this place was Hell.

* * *

The building itself was fortified with three enormous walls of stone, and that was just the first barrier. After entering the walls, each of which had a moat and Gundams between them, you came to a huge trench. It was about thirty to forty feet deep and filled with bombs and various other sharp objects. Above them, all the way from the front gates, was a ceiling of barbed-wire and mesh. There were murder holes, arrow slits, crenellations, the place was a frickin fortified army castle!

After the trench, they came to a big door. A big, gigantic steel-and-whatever-other metal door guarded by two really big battle GINNs. After that, was the military compound. There were guns and mobile suits everywhere. Not to mention guards, tanks, BACUWES and more. Cameras recorded everything everywhere and left no room for escape. This was the main thing that Torina noticed. She recorded everything into her mind for later escape purposes.

After that (yes there's more) to be taken through the compound to the soldiers quarters, you had to pass five control gates each with cameras, army dudes, GOUFs and guns. Patrols roamed everywhere at every time and place. It seemed Hormine Base was more like a huge prison. They had left no room for error and there seemed nothing that was weak. Hormine had no weaknesses. That's what sacred Torina the most. Luckily, while being 'shown through' the base, she managed to catch a glimpse of where Gundams were stored.

"We're here." One of the men holding her announced. She, and the others, were quite rudely shoved into a room. This time though, they were separated. Boys in one room, girls in the other. Except this time, Zentani was kept on her own. _I guess Remus figured she was the one who created operation Kick Natural Ass._ Torina thought. The room she and Rakusu shared was actually really nice, well, compared to outside. It was nicely furnished, had a bathroom and food.

"Did you see all the Gundams and soldiers?" Rakusu said while sitting down on the bed. She curled into a ball and sighed. "I think Heine was right. This placed is un-breechable." Torina sat next to her and patted her back.

"Hey, cheer up. Heine will be fine and we'll think of something."

"But your mother is by herself! What plan can we make?" Rakusu began to cry.

"We'll find a way." Torina said soothingly, but even she feared the worst. A tear slid down her face as she contemplated an what to do.

During this time, Rei and Nikkoru had been shoved into a room and spent their first few minutes testing every possible way of escape. Nothing. There were no windows and the only door was locked. No doubt there was a guard or two behind the door as well. What kind of soldier would live here?

"Nikkoru, found anything yet?" Rei asked. They had searched the room over and over again but to no avail. Even the room itself was un-breechable.

"No, but I found food at least." He said, sitting down next to Rei on the bed. "Where do you think the girls are? I thought I saw Zentani being taken elsewhere." Rei flopped backwards and sighed.

"I think Remus realized she thought of our plans. Well, let's asses our situation. The girls and Zentani are somewhere in this…facility. Heine is God knows where. And we are here, stuck in a windowless room with no possible means of escape."

"What would Asuran do?" Nikkoru muttered. _He probably wouldn't have been caught in this mess to begin with._

"Nikkoru?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you…scared?"

"Hell yes. If I wasn't I'd be breaking out of here with a toothbrush. No, I'm scared alright. I think the only one not scared is Zentani, but she's just nuts." He replied. Rei laughed a little and sighed again.

"Think we'll ever be released?" he asked. Nikkoru paused before answering.

"Of course. Torina would never let anyone stop her from achieving her goals. I bet she and Rakusu are formulating a plan right now!" he said happily.

"I hope you're right…" Rei said silently. A few tears streaked down his face and made his hair slightly wet. _Everyone is scared. What can we do in such a state?

* * *

_

After being forced off the Vulcan and into Hormine Base, Heine was confronted with memories he one, didn't know he had, and two, ones he didn't want to remember. The walls, the gates, the layout…it was all to familiar to him. Where his friends had been taken was completely in the opposite direction to his place of torture, er… I mean lodging. Although he didn't know where they were seeing as he was taken in first. To get to his lodgings, they had to pass only three control stops, but several armed passageways that swiveled around the central building like a labyrinth. The central building, which just so happened to be the Gundam Hangar, was full of Gundams, no doubt their own, and just beside the ship docking port.

He too was thrown into his room. It was cold and dark, just like the cell, save it had a tiny window. The window happened to be barred from the inside and out. The only door was bolted shut with guards on the other side and the only furniture was a fairly small bed. At least it had a pillow. As Heine flopped down on it, he began a long and slow thought process of his situation, similar to that of Rei.

_Let's see…stuck in a light-less cell, guards, barred windows and separated from the world. How wonderful! This wasn't quite what I had expected for an Italian holiday. At least Hormine is pretty close to Austria. When was the last time I was here? When I was… I think four. Pretty much twelve years of being away and Hormine hasn't changed a bit. Just like it._

"Hello." He said flatly. _Hello…hello…hello…._his voice echoed off the stone walls. Everything is stone here isn't it? Anyway, some one must have heard him because a 'hello' was returned to him coming from the wall across from him. Heine got up with a jump and raced to the wall. Slowing his breath, he put his ear to the wall and listened.

"Damn bastards! Locking me up without my rifle or my daughter! If I still had my rifle I'd kill someone! Why those little Natural mice! I guess they can't stand being stood up against. Their all like 'I've got my impenetrable castle and you don't' blah blah blah. Won't escape this, won't escape that, Why I oughta…"

"Zentani?" Heine asked, both amazed and amused.

"What? Who's asking?" the green haired teacher replied.

"It's me! Heine. I'm on the other side of this wall." He called out to her. He heard some movement and then a scream. "What is it Zentani?" No one replied. He waited tensely for several minutes when he heard…cooing?

"You're my little baby rifle aren't you?"

"Zentani!" Heine shouted.

"Yes dear?" she replied. He heard a shot being fired.

"What was that?" he asked quite startled. Where the heck did she get a rifle again? And what the heck was she shooting?

"Oh, I was making so much noise that the guards came in. I screamed and attacked him and stole his rifle. I was just checking to make sure it worked. Now I'm a happy camper…well… prisoner I guess." She replied happily. _My God…_ Heine thought. _She IS a nutcase._ "Heine dear?"

"Yes Zentani?"

"Could you blow the wall down?" Heine fell over. _What the hell is she thinking!_

"Why the hell are you asking that?" he asked.

"Because if you won't then I will. Stand back…" she called. Heine swore then darted to the other side of the room behind the bed. He heard counting down then…boom. There before him stood, when the dust finally cleared, Zentani, holding her rifle and smiling.

"You're insane! Absolutely, positively insane!" He muttered. Zentani stepped over the debris and gave him a hug. He attempted to return it, but have you ever tried to hug someone with one arm? "Where the hell did you get a grenade?" he shouted at her when she pulled away.

"I kept it in my bra. The men finally searched us, but they forgot, or didn't want to check a bra. Men are stupid. Stupid stupid men." She said while smiling. Heine smacked his forehead and sighed. _Zentani really does have some problems to sort out. She was fine during school. Maybe it's the freedom. Who knows._ He thought.

"You really are something." He stated. Zentani grinned.

"Thank you. Now I believe we have to find the others?" she asked. He smiled.

"Lead the way o fearless leader." He said while helping her back over into her room and through the gaping hole in the wall where she had thrown another grenade. Under his breath he added "and o insane one."

* * *

Alarms went off as soon as Heine and Zentani passed through the gaping hole. Zentani began to run one way, but Heine stopped her and kept her running in the other direction. In all the madness of the alarms going off, and Heine having escaped with the teacher, Hormine was in a state of panic. Well, Remus was at least. And his fear caused other to fear too. He knew Heines full potential and didn't like that the teen was free with that nutcase. (Zentani). Back to our heroes.

After running down a deserted passage, Heine and Zentani made their way, secretly, into the Gundam Hangar. There, they hid and waited for the commotion to quiet down. God knows how the others were right now. Probably scared, and anxious to hear what happened. When one alarm in Hormine went off, they all went off. THAT was Hormines one weakness. Alarm confusion. They sat in the darkest corner and watched the happenings in the hangar. Gundams were leaving via the door and the roof and men and soldiers of all types ran around like headless chickens (2).

"Is it safe yet?" Zentani asked. She was curled in a ball hugging her rifle. She wasn't scared, but was curled up to protect herself from sight.

"Almost. Keep quiet!" Heine whispered back. They were almost noticed once, but before the man could report it, he was ushered off to do something. After all the personnel were busy doing something, Heine made his move.

"Zentani?" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"Here's the current plan, I want you to find our Gundams and get into yours. Whatever you do, don't be seen and don't do anything, just sit there. I'm going to find the others, bring them here, then we'll all leave for Austria. And remember, don't get caught! Okay?" he replied.

"Sounds good. They should be over on the other side of the Base. Watch out for cameras!" She replied. Then she gave him a thumbs up and in a flash, she was off to the Gundams. _She can run pretty fast in those shoes._ Heine thought. She was, indeed, wearing a pair of not to high high-heels. While she ran to search, he created a diversion. He ran out of his hiding spot, picked up a wrench, and threw it. The wrench hit a man in the back and he fell over in pain. Others crowed to him and while they weren't looking, Heine left the hangar.

After leaving the hangar, Heine headed to wards the soldiers quarters. Zentani needn't have told him where they were. He had grown up here for three years. He knew, well, remember the place inside and out. At least the secret passageways. While he was being tested on in his youth, they had let him roam free around the place. _That was their biggest mistake!_ He though. _Letting me search out every nook and cranny. Stupid men. Hey, Zentani and I agree on something! Creepy._

"He's at the Hangar!" he heard a man shout. The man was leading a group of BACUWES to the Hangar, as you guessed, and didn't notice him slip past. He was wary of cameras (thanks to his earlier years) and made it to the soldiers quarters in under half an hour. A pretty good time seeing as the place was in turmoil and so high security. As a child it would take him two, even three hours to go from one end to the other because of posts and patrols. He set off at a run, and ran straight into Remus.

"Shit." Was all he said. Remus scowled in anger.

* * *

1. The 'grab, squeeze, twist, pull, throw it away' move is one I learned in my grade nine self-defense course (during gym). If you hadn't guessed, this move is used when dealing with men and their 'special' area. (I'll leave it to you to imagine what happens.)

2. When I chickens head is cut off (if you're squeamish don't read), they end up running around headless and spurting blood for anywhere from I-5 minutes because it takes that long for their brain to register that they're dead.

Authors note: Hello people! Just so you know, I'm not sexist at all. The reason I keep putting 'stupid men' and such is because it is simply Zentanis' character. She's not to fond of men, especially Natural soldiers (if you hadn't guessed). :D I know it seems weird, but Heine being able to remember Hormine from twelve years ago is thanks to his 'biological-weapon upgrade.' It caused him to have an almost unlimited memory along with unnatural powers, skill and creativity. I hope that clarifies some things for you! Ciao! Jenipher


	4. Escape Showdown

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny, nor do I own any of the chars or songs.

* * *

Heine set off at a run, and ran straight into Remus. "Shit." Was all he said. Remus scowled in anger. Before Heine could turn to get away, one of Remus' hands shot out and grabbed his arm. Heine was flung back and into a wall whereupon Remus stood in front of him and his scowl turned into a smile.

"Well well, what do we have here?" he asked in a sly voice.

"I do believe you have an orange haired teen and a base full of confusion. Why?" Heine sarcastically replied then spat in Remus' face.

"Insolent little…!" Remus shouted but stopped when Heine smiled evilly then attacked. He launched himself off the stone wall and head-butted Remus in the stomach, full force. The older man groaned and stepped back a few paces, enough to give Heine another shot. He brought his arm back, ran at Remus and punched him in the face. Unfortunately, Remus had recovered by then and caught Heine's fist and twisted it. He cried out in pain and gave Remus a hook kick to the head. Remus let go of his fist only to grab his leg and spin him to the ground. Hard. Heine landed on his bad arm and was immobilized by pain for a second. That second was all Remus needed. He picked Heine up by the throat and squeezed. Heine noticed glints of metal coming from the scratches on Remus' arm and face.

"Poor boy. You can never defeat me!"

"And why... is that?" Heine gasped out, struggling against the strong grip imprisoning him.

"Why? You should know my boy. I may be a 'half breed' but that's only because I am half German and half…." Remus stopped, smiled, and blinked several times in succession. When he re-opened his eyes fully and stopped blinking, Heine stopped struggling.

"You didn't!" he stammered.

"Oh but I did." Remus replied. His right eye was now a different color, blood red, and his left eye… it was mechanic. With a few more seconds, the skin fell off half of Remus's face to reveal a fully mechanical face. He looked down and noticed that Remus's hand, which moments ago had been real, was now metallic and sharp. "Amazing what technology can do now. Isn't it splendid?"

"Why would you do this to yourself!" Heine shouted and Remus laughed.

"Why? So I could find you and bring you down. After your escape last time, I was sent to recover you but I failed. This is my punishment. Not to bad a punishment eh? You could've been the same, but they wanted you to be human."

"Who do you mean by they?" the orange haired teen asked.

"Your parents." Heine had begun struggling again, but stooped shock still when the words hit his ears. _Your parents._ It echoed through his mind over and over again like a wave. He closed his eyes and there, before him, he could see a little…seed? It was breath-takingly beautiful. Shimmering with every color imaginable. He reached out to touch it and it shattered into a thousand pieces. When he re-opened his eyes, they were stone hard cold. Remus noticed and smiled. "Now the fight really begins." He said with a snarl, and threw Heine to the ground.

* * *

Back in the soldiers quarters, Rakusu and Torina had begun to formulate a plan. It wasn't fool-proof, and was riddled with holes, but it just might work. It seems that even though they had been searched, Rakusu still had a knife, and Torina had managed to keep a mini gun. Unlike Zentani however, these were stored simply under hair. Using a pretty un-scientific hypothesis, they figured the boys were in a few rooms over, and that Heine and Zentani were probably located near each other. But like all assumptions, this one was full of doubt.

"What if we're wrong per chance?" Rakusu asked Torina, who was now pacing back and forth. She glanced briefly at the pink haired girl on the floor and continued.

"We'll just have to take that chance."

"I'm still scared about all this and I don't trust our plan." Rakusu admitted. Torina stopped, and turned to her.

"So am I, but we must be brave. Courage is the essence of beginning something even though you know you're already doomed to fail. We must have the courage to help our friends and to save ourselves in the process."

"My father once said…" Rakusu said shakily, she was still sore about his death. "That courage is resistance of fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." (1) she paused. "And I sure as heck think that according to that, I'm courageous!" she let out a little giggle which Torina shared.

"Your father was a wise man. Many looked up to him, and now, they look up to you. Just as my people look to me in times of crisis. So, we may be a bunch of scared chickens, but we're strong scared chickens!"

"Agreed." Rakusu said happily. The two girls hugged then smiled to each other. "Let's go kick some ass!"

"Rakusu!" Torina said scornfully, but laughed all the same.

"What? In times of crisis, and times like these, strong language is often needed!" The two girls laughed for a minute, got themselves together, then began their plan.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Rakusu and Torina, Rei and Nikkoru where truly but a few rooms over. After a while of silence, they to had begun to plot. Having both been soldiers, their planning was more serious and more fool-proof then that of the girls. But unlike the girls, they figured everyone was split up and scattered all around the base. At least, that's what they decided to go with. It made it so that there plan was more secure if indeed everyone was close together.

Also, whereas the girls plan was based purely on guess work and chance, Rei and Nikkoru had made perfectly sure there plan would work. They tested parts of it, like guards and such, and brain stormed several means of escape. Also unlike the girls, they were weapon-less. There only chance at weapons was to steal a few mobile suits and blow the place to Hell. Oh wait, it already was Hell. Oops, my bad.

"Everything is in place?" Rei asked.

"Check. All we need now is for a bit of chaos to spark somewhere within the base area." Just as Nikkoru got the words out of his mouth, both boys heard shouting, running and smiled to each other.

"That was quick." Was all Rei said before they began to put their plan into action.

* * *

While Heine and Remus continued their fight, and the others were enacting their various plans of escape, Zentani had gotten bored sitting in her Mobile Suit. Ignoring Heines warnings of resting immobilized, she decided to walk around, pretending to be one of the soldiers.

"Stupid males ain't got no control of me." She said angrily to herself. "Ain't gonna let them boss me around." She smiled gleefully and left the hangar with minimal opposition. "Now then…" she said to herself, "If I were a soldier, were would I sleep?" she rounded a corner and stopped when she saw a patrol. She shut the suit down and pretended to be guarding the way. If anyone saw her on the video com link, it would be game over. They passed, and Zentani let out the breath she had been holding.

After searching around the hangar area for some time, Zentani got frustrated. Really frustrated. Having not been able to get anywhere, she put her thrusters on and her suit shot into the sky like a rocket. Once ensuring a safe position in the air above the base, she searched below her for some sort of 'sign'. Nothing.

"Damn kids! Couldn't they have figured a way out by now?" she muttered, scanning the area below again and again. "There!" she shouted as a pink head and a violet head popped out from a doorway. The green haired teacher shot down towards the base and stopped just short of where she had seen the girls. Opening the hatch and jumping out, she raced towards them. "Rakusu! Torina!" she shouted.

"Zentani? Is that you?" a voice shouted.

"Mother?" Zentani rounded the corner and run straight into the two girls. "Thank Ceres (2) you're alright!" Torina gasped out, hugging her mother fiercely.

"If you hold to tight, I'm gonna die!" Zentani breathed out. "How did you two escape?" she asked, realization suddenly dawning on her. Rakusu smiled.

"Well, after making sure the guards had left because of the commotion, be somehow managed to 'open' the door…" Rakusu began telling the story.

"That's putting it mildly." Torina muttered to herself.

"…and then ran out. We managed to duck into the doorway before getting seen and then met with you." She finished.

"Any idea where the boys are?" Zentani asked, scratching her head.

"Um…not really." The girls said in sync. As if on cue, Rei and Nikkoru rounded the corner literally two seconds after the words had been spoken.

"That was quick." Zentani laughed out. Rei and Nikkoru looked at each other.

"What was?" Rei asked, slinging the rifle he had taken from a guard over his shoulder.

"Well, we were just…how'd you two escape?" Torina asked, changing the subject. Nikkoru told them of how they had made a 'mini-grenade' and had blown the door, and the guards, away. They then ran like hell and just happened to meet up with the three girls.

"How'd you get away Zentani?" Rei asked. Zentani sighed and explained her situation and how she had come to get there and with a Mobile Suit.

"Amazing." Rakusu breathed out. "Wait a minute!"

"What?" the four others said in unison.

"Where's Heine?" she asked. Everyone gasped.

"Well, he should be around here somewhere." Zentani answered. "He told me that he was heading to the quarters to get you guys." Just then, there was a loud crack and the wall across from the group broke to pieces. A body staggered to get up and was kicked down by a mechanical being.

"Holy crap! It's Heine, and he looks like he's in trouble!" Nikkoru shouted. "Hey, is that…thing Remus?" everyone turned to look at the two fighting figures. Remus had Heine pinned to the ground, and was punching him in the face.

* * *

After having been thrown to the ground again, Heine was then picked up and smashed through a wall. After the dust had cleared, he staggered to get up, hearing familiar voices talking in the background. He turned to look at them, but was pinned by Remus. He took several punches to the face before punching Remus back. The older man fell back a bit, allowing Heine the time to get up.

"Ah, I see your 'posse' has arrived!" Remus said mockingly. Heine growled and sprung at Remus. The two rolled around, fighting on the ground when something whizzed past Heines face, and hit Remus straight in the throat. He stumbled back and fell to the ground. Heine turned around to see Rei in a shooting position, rifle raised and a thing trail of smoke coming out the end.

"Heine!" Torina shouted, and raced forwards to hug him. He returned the embrace and was soon dragged back to the others. Rei lowered the gun and went over to Remus' body while the others fussed over Heines sorry state of being. The blond haired pilot poked Remus with the butt end of the gun, assessing the damage.

"Heine! Come here please, alone." He called out. When Heine was by his side, he poked Remus in the chest and spoke. "Don't go celebrating. I'm not certain if he's dead yet. Mind explaining the metal?" Heine managed a weak smile.

"Um…yeah, about that…" He started, but was cut off when something grabbed Rei's ankle and pulled him down. Heine wasn't quick enough to react, and soon Rei had a knife pressed to his throat, courtesy of a not dead yet Remus.

"You really thought I could be defeated by a bullet?" the machine man asked, grinning like mad. "Stupid child! Now what are you going to do? Move to attack, and pretty boy here dies." While Remus, Rei, Heine and the others were concentrating on the current problem, Rakusu slipped away from the group silently, and made her way to Zentanis suit. She got up into the cockpit, and waited.

"Let him go!" Nikkoru shouted, approaching Remus.

"Why should I? Because you'll tell your mother?" Remus joked, pressing the blade closer to Reis neck. He held in any noise, but his eyes showed a bit of fear. His eyes, which had turned ice cold and emotionless. When Remus wasn't paying attention and was making his rude comment, Rei took his chance. He grabbed Remus' arm and flung him over his shoulder. The older man landed on his feet in front of Rei and snarled.

"Why you..." he started, then fell silent. Rakusu saw this as her chance, and had taken the beam saber out and had stabbed Remus. The extreme heat burned whatever 'human flesh' he had left, and melted the metal of his body. His scream of agony and the noise of the saber where all that was heard, and the silent whimpering coming from the Mobile Suit. The saber retracted, leaving naught but a burned and melted stud of what used to be a man. Heine knelt beside Remus and smiled.

"I don't think you're so invincible now." He whispered.

"Yo…u…" Remus said, gasping for some air. Blood began to flow out of his mouth, showing that death was near. In a final attempt, Remus grabbed Heines arm and pulled him to the ground and hissed. "You'll pay…you can't run…for..ever…" his speech slurred. "Shhhhe'll…di…e…just you wait and…"his arm fell limp to the ground before he could finish. Heine stumbled back, staring at Remus.

"Burn in Hell Remus, burn in Hell." He said, before getting up and stumbling back to the others. One final glance over his shoulder provided him with an interesting sight. Remus' body melted to dust, and blew away in the wind. Sensing his pain, Torina put her arm around his shoulder to help him walk, and they all heading back to the hangar.

* * *

Having gotten into their Gundams at the hangar, the group of teens, and Zentani fought their way out of Hormine Base, which was now in ruins. They raised it to the ground, destroying all memory of the place nicknamed 'Hell', and dispersing the soldiers who had been there. Each Gundam had the same pilot as before, except this time Torina piloted Heines GOUF and he was the passenger.

"This is Torina speaking. Everyone, please follow mine and Heines lead. We will be following the River Inn down to Innsbruck, Austria, where we will rest and re-strategize tomorrow morning. Over." Torina said into the intercom. She got replies of 'Roger that' from the other Gundams and sighed in relief. She was seated at the controls of a Mobile Suit for the first time in a long while, with Heine sitting on her lap, sleeping. His injuries had started to heal themselves, and he was sleeping the pain off.

_I'm so frigging glad that it's over._ She thought to herself while flying over the shining blue river that they were meant to follow. _I hope things aren't that bad when we reach Rome. Holy Jupiter (3) help me be strong! And help me please save my friends from anymore danger!_ She sighed and looked at Heines sleeping face. He was at peace for the first time in years. _And help me to save him._ She thought lastly, before switching her mind over.

"Fun time is over." She said coldly, and in a commanding tone. "And the real party, begins now." If anyone had seen her, they would have feared the girl standing before them. For fire burned in her eyes, and as they say, the eyes are the windows of the soul. And her soul, was the soul of an Empress.

* * *

1. This quote was said by and author called Mark Twain. It is one of my favorites.

2. Ceres (Demeter) is the Goddess mother of Proserpine (Persephone), wife of Pluto (Hades) in Roman mythology. Just a note, I use the Roman Gods in this story seeing as Torina is Italian. The names in parenthesis are the Greek names.

3. Jupiter is the Roman name for Zeus. The Romans named the planets of our solar system after the Roman Gods. (Earth I guess is the equivalent of Gaia).


End file.
